Xavier Baseball 2023

[GoMuskies]

Lexington would be great. Kentucky will be one of the weaker hosts.

[X-band '01]

Here were some notable points during today's doubleheader (btw Big East, how did today's games not end up on FS2?):

Game 1:
UConn got runs in each of the first 3 innings, but Xavier was able to get Nick Boyle out of the bullpen to induce a double play in the 4th inning when UConn loaded the bases and threatened to blow the game open early. X tied it in the 5th, but UConn would get runners at 2nd and 3rd the following inning and scored 2 runs on a botched pickoff attempt by DuPrey throwing towards 3rd base. Ben Huber (aka Albino Rhino) hit a solo homerun an inning later and pretty much sealed that game.

Game 2:
Xavier got a 1st-inning run but was running in quicksand when UConn brought Garrett Coe out of the bullpen. Coe was the same guy that shut down X in last year's championship game as well; he outlasted Alazaus before exiting in the 8th inning. Xavier managed to get a run across in the 7th and had the bases loaded with 1 out, but Andrew Walker lined out to the pitcher and led to a 1-4 double play. UConn hit back-to-back doubles in the 7th to take the 3-2 lead going into the 9th.

From there, their closer promptly hit Hendrickson and walked Stephenson - that led to Housinger's 2-run triple in the top of the 9th. A DuPrey sac fly extended the lead to 5-3 and Xavier tacked on two more runs after Willis and the following two UConn pitchers lost their command.

Justin Loer had one tough inning in the 7th, but he otherwise slammed the door and Xavier wins their 4th Big East title in 10 years. UConn had multiple opportunities to break the game open, but couldn't get many hits with runners in scoring position. They did hit 2 homeruns today, but both were bases-empty deals.

[X-band '01]

And the All-Tournament Team:

Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown, So., C
Pat D’Amico, Seton Hall, So., INF
David Smith, UConn, R-So., OF
Garrett Coe, UConn, R-Jr., P
Paul Tammaro, UConn, Gr., INF
Ben Huber, UConn, Gr., INF
Carter Hendrickson, Xavier, So., OF
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Gr., INF (Jack Kaiser Award - MVP)
Tyler DeMartino, Xavier, Sr., DH
Andrew Walker, Xavier, Gr., OF
Brant Alazaus, Xavier, Gr., P

[UCGRAD4X]

And the All-Tournament Team:

Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown, So., C
Pat D’Amico, Seton Hall, So., INF
David Smith, UConn, R-So., OF
Garrett Coe, UConn, R-Jr., P
Paul Tammaro, UConn, Gr., INF
Ben Huber, UConn, Gr., INF
Carter Hendrickson, Xavier, So., OF
Jack Housinger, Xavier, Gr., INF (Jack Kaiser Award - MVP)
Tyler DeMartino, Xavier, Sr., DH
Andrew Walker, Xavier, Gr., OF
Brant Alazaus, Xavier, Gr., P

Huskies and Muskies dominated. Did anybody else from the BE bother to show up?

[GoMuskies]

D1 Baseball (which projected Xavier OUT with a loss to UConn in the late game) indeed has the Muskies traveling to Lexington as a #3 seed. Kentucky is rated 13th of the 16 hosts, so it's a good draw. Geographically, there's also a chance Xavier gets sent to Terre Haute, where Indiana State might be host 16 of 16. That would be the dream.

[Masterofreality]

Pretty amazing 9th inning comeback. John Fanta called Jack Housinger “Mr. Xavier”.
In baseball, that would be correct!

[X-band '01]

We could end up seeing the Trees in Lexington should they not get selected as a regional host. They did win the Missouri Valley auto-bid, so that chance is still alive for them.

And Go, what happened to Louisville this year? Noticed they didn't even qualify for the 12-team ACC Tournament.

[GoMuskies]

Complete collapse. They were ranked #2 at one point.

[X-band '01]

D1 Baseball (which projected Xavier OUT with a loss to UConn in the late game) indeed has the Muskies traveling to Lexington as a #3 seed. Kentucky is rated 13th of the 16 hosts, so it's a good draw. Geographically, there's also a chance Xavier gets sent to Terre Haute, where Indiana State might be host 16 of 16. That would be the dream.

Indiana State will get to host a regional; the other non-Power 5 host will be Coastal Carolina.

As for UConn, their road got harder by virtue of Boston College not getting to host a regional.

SEC (8)
Auburn
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Kentucky
LSU
South Carolina
Vanderbilt

ACC (4)
Clemson
Miami
Virginia
Wake Forest

Big 12 (1)
Oklahoma State

Pac-12 (1)
Stanford

Missouri Valley (1)
Indiana State

Sun Belt (1)
Coastal Carolina

[bobbiemcgee]

Omaha Omaha!